Of small boxes and claustrophobia
by DaughteroftheRedKing
Summary: Yuri Lowell is the bravest eight year old ever!...except when it comes to small spaces. (Slightly OOC, Young!Yuri and Young!Flynn at first half, normal game-verse in second)


**A/N: I'm just churning out ToV stuff at the moment...I will get back on Symphonia soon, I'm just trying to get Vesperia out of my system.**

**Slightly OOC for Young!Yuri and Young!Flynn, and because when you're scared of something, you don't act like yourself.**

**Disclaimer: Wow. I still don't own Tales of Vesperia.**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

Yuri Lowell was proud to say that he was the bravest eight year old ever. He wasn't afraid of spiders, bugs, monsters under the bed, nightmares, breaking rules and laws, or real monsters.

Flynn Scifo was proud to say that his best friend was the bravest person ever. He was very certain Yuri could do anything. After all, Yuri wasn't afraid of _anything._

* * *

Yuri suggested one day that they play hide and seek. They were bored, so it seemed like a good idea.

"Okay Flynn! You count first!" Yuri declared before scampering off. Flynn dutifully turned round, covering his eyes and starting to count to one hundred.

"One...two...three...four...five...six...seven...eight...nine...ten...twelve... eleven..."

Yuri rolled his eyes at Flynn's bad counting and looked around for a good place to hide. Spotting a small side room filled with boxes, he grinned and darted in, pushing the door closed behind him. Snuggling himself within two boxes, he sat back to wait. From here he could still clearly hear Flynn struggling with his counting, and knew exactly when Flynn cut off at thirty eight to start looking for his best friend.

"Yuri! Yuri! Where are you?" Flynn called as he padded past. Yuri gave a little giggle, snuggling further into the boxes. Flynn'd never find him here.

It seemed like forever before Yuri finally grew bored and a little worried. It was dark and he was fed up of sitting waiting for Flynn. Getting up, he padded over to the door and reached for the handle, then froze. Reaching around wildly, he finally came to the conclusion that there wasn't a handle on this side.

'What a silly door, only having one handle,'

he thought to himself, but it more to distract him from the fact that he was stuck in a tiny little room in the dark.

Yuri crept over to the boxes, snuggling into them to try and find some comfort. He was the bravest eight year old ever...but this was a little bit scary.

After a while he tried banging on the door, hoping to get Flynn's attention that way, but he must have moved to a different area as he didn't open the door. He tried yelling, but that got the same result. Eventually he went back to the boxes, curling up with his back against the wall and starting to cry.

* * *

Flynn was very worried about his best friend Yuri. He had disappeared. Finally he had gotten worried and asked Mr Hanks to help look for him. The two searched the entire Lower Quarter, asking a lot of people if they had seen him, but nobody had. So now Flynn was very worried.

He went back to where they had first started playing, wondering if Yuri had gone back and was waiting for him. They passed a couple of ladies standing chatting outside a door.

"Are you sure you heard shouting, Mavis?" one of them asked the other doubtfully.

"Of course I'm sure! It's a ghost, it must be, there was nothing in there earlier!" the woman Mavis replied, a little hysterically.

"Or it could be an animal that slipped inside," her friend pointed out.

"Well, why don't you open it and find out?"

The two women gazed doubtfully at the door, and Flynn padded over.

"Excuse me misses, have you seen my friend Yuri? He was playing hide and seek and now he disappeared," Flynn explained.

"No, I'm afraid I haven't, pet," Mavis' friend replied with a smile.

"Oh. Did you say you have a ghost?"

"We don't know. Maybe."

"Can I look?" Flynn asked innocently.

"As long as you're careful, pet."

"I will." Flynn walked up to the door, reaching up and grabbing the handle. He pushed it and the door swung inwards with a creak. He padded inside, looking around. "Hello? Mister Ghost?" he called.

He heard movement and turned just as he was bowled over. He was about to fight the thing off when he recognised the mop of purple hair.

Taking another moment, he realised the person was shaking against him, hugging him tightly. Flynn frowned, then looked down at him. "Yuri?" he asked hesitantly.

Yuri raised his eyes slightly, his coal-black ones meeting Flynn's bright blue. They gazed at each other a moment, tear tracks down Yuri's cheeks.

Flynn stood up, helping Yuri up as well. He gently untangled the boy from him, clasping his hand firmly, then walked up to the door.

"It's okay, it wasn't a ghost. It was my friend Yuri," he explained to the two women, who looked a little shocked. Then he walked past them, Yuri trailing behind.

They found a private place, and Yuri lost his reserve, clinging to Flynn tightly as he cried. Flynn hugged him back, rocking him gently.

Flynn was proud to call his best friend the bravest eight year old in the world. But sometimes, there are things that even eight year olds are afraid of.

* * *

Karol sighed. Yuri was always sneaking off on his own, and it was starting to irritate him. He didn't show it as obviously as Rita, however, who was impatiently tapping her foot.

"Well? Where is he?" she demanded.

"I'm sure he'll be along soon," Estelle said, ever patient and optimistic.

"But we do need to get going, Estelle. What if we miss your friend again?" asked Karol. Estelle frowned briefly at that possibility, then smiled.

"Then we find him again," she replied.

Rita began to pace the room in the inn, giving an irritable sigh every time she turned which was almost more annoying than her foot tapping. Not that Karol would ever mention it.

"That's it! I'm leaving!" Rita exploded finally, stomping for the door.

"Rita! Wait!" Estelle called, hurrying after her.

Karol rolled his eyes, then looked at Repede. "I don't suppose you know where Yuri is, do you?"

Repede raised his head, sniffed the air, then gave a little bark. Karol grinned.

"You do? Awesome! Lead the way, Repede!"

Repede stood up, padding for the door with Karol following behind. They headed out of the inn, down the street. Karol was a little surprised that Yuri had gone so far in town, but didn't question Repede.

Finally they stopped outside a small door. Karol frowned, looking at Repede.

"In here?" he asked, and Repede nodded. Karol tried the handle, finding it locked. "Well, I guess I need to find the owner then," he muttered to himself, looking around. The nearest house was the most likely, he decided, and headed for it.

He knocked on the door and waited a moment. It was opened a plump old lady, who smiled as she spotted Karol.

"Hello there, dear. How can I help you?" she asked.

"I was wondering if that...uh, hut belonged to you ma'am," he replied, pointing to the door Repede sat infront of. The lady squinted as she gazed at it, then nodded in recognition.

"Yes, I do. But whatever do you need it for?"

"Um, I think my friend might have gotten locked inside by accident."

The woman racked her brain, then covered her mouth. "Oh dear, I do believe you're right...the young man with the purple hair, wasn't it? Oh, the poor sweetheart, I completely forgot about him...My memory isn't as great as it used to be, you see," she explained as she tottered into the house, grabbing a key and handing it to Karol.

"Thank you ma'am," he said, before hurrying off to the door.

He reached it, slotting the key in and pulling it open. Repede immediately darted in, heading over to a figure sitting curled against the wall and licking his cheek.

"Yuri?" Karol asked quietly as he walked over to the person. They didn't respond and he knelt beside them, easily recognising Yuri's hair and clothing. "Yuri, are you alright?" he asked again.

Reaching out to touch him, he suddenly felt Yuri trembling beneath him. Frowning, he firmly grasped Yuri's arm and pulled him up. Yuri stumbled briefly, catching Karol's gaze, and he was surprised to see the pure terror in them.

Then they slid away, and the moment was broken.

Karol looked at Repede. "Repede, do you know what's wrong with him?" he asked.

Repede gave a whine, then tugged on Yuri's sleeve, pulling him towards the door. Karol took hold of his other arm, gently steering Yuri outside.

As soon as they were out, Yuri seemed to snap out of it. He raised his head, gazing up at the sky, and let out a shaky breath. Lifting a hand, he ran it through his hair and calmed himself.

Looking around, he blinked as he saw Karol.

"Karol? What are you doing here?" he asked.

"I was looking for you. But what was the matter? You were completely out of it!"

Yuri glanced back at the little room, shivering slightly and stepping away from it. "I'm...not great with small spaces," he explained.

Karol frowned. "So you're cl...cla...clasteraphobic?"

"Claustrophobic. Yeah."

"Why?" Karol knew that people were only 'phobic' of something when they had a really bad experience; or, so far as he had seen, at least.

"Well...when I was younger, I was playing hide and seek with Flynn and got locked in a small store room. He didn't find me for a few hours. I've just been a bit afraid ever since."

Karol took this in, then suddenly realised something. "Is that why you always sleep with the window or door open and with someone else?" he asked.

Yuri gave a tired smirk. "Yeah, pretty much."

"Wow...I never realised. Sorry Yuri."

"No need to apologise, Captain Karol. Now, where are we off to?"

Karol knew that the problem was far from sorted. But if Yuri didn't want to talk about it anymore, then he would oblige.

Maybe next time, he decided.

* * *

**A/N: I don't even know why I think of this stuff half the time. Anyway, if you spot any mistakes or have any suggestions, please review! Unbeta'd but spellchecked, so there shouldn't be any mistakes...**

**Review?**


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